Municipalities such as towns and cities, as well as counties, states or other governmental jurisdictions commonly issue permits for construction and property improvement activities that have the potential to impact building safety, sanitation, environmental or other governmental concerns. Such a jurisdiction commonly requires a property owner or contractor who wishes to perform such a construction or property improvement activity to apply for and obtain a permit. For example, a city may require one to apply for and obtain a permit to repair or install plumbing lines and fixtures or electrical power wiring and devices in a home or other premises. Even relatively simple home improvement projects, such as the installation of a water heater, may require one or more permits from one or more jurisdictions. Such a home improvement project may require two or more types of permits, such as an electrical permit, a building permit, and a gas fitting permit.
The time-honored method of obtaining permits of the types described above involves the homeowner, contractor or other applicant visiting an office of the permit-issuing authority, filling out an application form, and submitting the form and an application fee. If the authority approves the application, the permit authority issues the permit in the form of a paper document. Improvements to this method have included on-line permit application systems that applicants can access via the Internet. Applicants can thus receive issued permits as electronic documents by e-mail or by downloading them from the system web sites. Applicants can print received permits in hardcopy form using a computer printer or store permits in electronic form on portable devices such as mobile smartphones and tablet computers.
To access an on-line permit application system of the type described above, the user generally must know or look up the name of the permit-issuing authority and know or look up the appropriate web site. Once logged into the appropriate web site, the user generally must know what type of permit is required, as such systems generally display a list of permit types from which the user is expected to choose. Although professional contractors may be familiar with permit types, a homeowner may be unsure of what types of permits are required and from what authority to seek them. Each jurisdiction that provides an on-line permit application system generally maintains its own web site for that purpose, and such web sites do not include references between each other. For example, an on-line permit application system maintained by a city generally does not refer the user to on-line permit application systems that may be maintained by the county in which that city is located.
Using the conventional method described above, a property owner, contractor or other prospective permit applicant must first identify each jurisdiction from which a permit might be needed for a particular project, then determine the authorities responsible for issuing such permits, and determine the type of permits offered by those authorities. The permit applicant may then determine which of these authorities offers an on-line permit application system and learn how to access and use each of them.
Another improvement has included an Internet-enabled kiosk installed in a home improvement store, through which applicants can access one such on-line permit application system operated by a municipal authority. Through an agreement between the provider of the kiosk and the municipal authority, the kiosk can electronically communicate with that authority's on-line permit application system to apply for a permit. The kiosk prompts the user to enter information including the user's name and address as well as the type of permit sought. The user can also enter payment information for the permit application fee, such as a credit card number. The kiosk forwards the permit application information, including the payment information, to the authority's permit application system via an Internet connection. If the permit application is approved, the kiosk receives the permit in electronic format and prints a copy of the permit that the user can take.
Another system is known in which a web site provides a single point of entry to the permit application systems of a group of nearby cities. A user can select a jurisdiction from a drop-down menu, and the system navigates the user's web browser to the permit application system of that jurisdiction.
It would be desirable to provide a permit application system that is easier and more convenient for property owners, contractors or other prospective permit applicants to use than conventional systems.